The Rossland Secondary School Royals competed in what could likely be it’s final provincial tournament last week.
The rich sports history of RSS athletics is scheduled to end after School District 20 (SD20) trustees voted in favour late last month of moving secondary school grades down to Trail, and closing MacLean Elementary School.
Nonetheless, the RSS senior girls basketball team gave it their all at the single-A provincial championships last week in Prince George, looking to leave a lasting impression.
The number nine ranked Royals won two games and lost two games in the 16-team event that hit the hard court Mar. 6-10. Opening the tournament with a 66-49 loss to eighth-ranked Kelowna Christian, the team bounced back with a convincing 76-47 win over Duncan Christian. Kaela Zimmer drained 15 points for the Royals, dialing in three, three-pointers to lead the squad.
RSS then played Bulkley Valley Christian and battled hard coming back from a 41-38 deficit in the third quarter, and scoring 21 points in the final-15 to eke out a thrilling 59-57 victory. Annie Cameron led the Royals with 18 points, while Zimmer drained 11, and Kaycee McKinnon nailed the same number, including two three-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately, their exciting run would come to a close with a devastating 52-46 loss to Unity Christian from Vancouver with Cameron netting 11-points for RSS.
The Royals had a great season winning tournaments in Creston, Grand Forks, Kamloops, Trail, and the Zone Championships in Rossland. The team posting a impressive record of 28 victories and three losses.
Number-two ranked Immaculata took the provincial single-A title with a 58-53 victory over top-seeded Cedars Christian.